Various types of bulk materials are shipped, stored, and otherwise processed and distributed in the form of compressed bales. For example, recyclable paper products are processed into compressed bales so that the paper may be more easily handled, and a greater amount of such products may be stored and shipped in a smaller space than would be possible with loose bulk material. As is appreciated, bales are substantially easier and more efficient to handle than the loose bulk material.
To form a bale, it is generally known to wrap such bales of compressible material with wire or other elongated binding devices to keep the bales in a compressed form, such as for shipping and storage. Wire is often most preferable as a binding material for its low cost and the ease with which it is handled. To bind a bale, the wire is wrapped in strands around the bale. The ends of the wire strands are overlapped and then twisted or tied together to form a continuous wire strand around the bales to keep the bales together.
One method of forming a bale automatically ties the bale. The compressible material is directed into an automatic baler where it is pressed into a bale by a ram and then moved by the ram through the baler. Continuous wire strands extend automatically across the bale path at different heights on the bale, and as the bale moves through the baler, the wire strands are wrapped around the front end and sides of the bale. An automatic tying system then engages the bale and wire strands and ties the wire strands around the bale, such as by twisting together the overlapped ends of the wire strands. Examples of various automatic balers and tying methods are illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,120,238; 4,155,296; 4,167,902, and 4,459,904. While automatic tying apparatuses have proven suitable for baling and tying compressed bales in rapid succession in certain applications, they generally require complex and expensive machinery which has to automatically manipulate and twist the wires together to form the bale.
Alternatively, certain baling applications require hand or manual tying of the wires wrapped around a bale. Hand tying devices reduce the complexities and costs associated with automatic balers and tying systems, and are often utilized to supplement automatic balers. For example, when an automatic baler malfunctions, the bales cannot be properly wrapped and tied. This creates a slowdown in bale production and will usually mean a work stoppage until the automatic baler is repaired. Repairs are often not immediately made due to the necessity of scheduling a repair person. To ensure that bale production is not altogether stopped during repair situations and, to reduce the bale slowdown, hand tying devices are used. The wire is wrapped around the bale and tied manually with such a device. Still further, the particular material being baled may dictate that hand tying is required, because of the complexities involved in trying to design an automatic tying apparatus for the material.
Various different hand tying or splicing mechanisms are commercially available and have provided a means for manually twisting and tying two wires together, such as to bind a bale. However, such devices usually require two people to operate because of the tasks of manually wrapping the wire and tying the ends of the wrapped wire. For example, the wire ends will usually be tied on the sides of the bale. Therefore, one person must wrap the wire around the bale and hold the overlapped wire ends in position while another person actually twists and ties the wire ends together. As a result, use of existing hand tyers may be relatively inefficient and expensive due to increased labor costs.
Furthermore, it may take a relatively substantial amount of time to wrap and tie a single strand of wire around a bale. For example, in the inventor's experience, it will usually require 2-4 minutes for two people to wrap and tie one strand. A single bale may require 4-6 strands. As may be appreciated, manually wrapping and tying a bale with the available hand tying devices is inefficient.
Therefore, there is a need for a method and apparatus to rapidly and adequately tie and secure a wire or other similar binding device around a bale of compressed material.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide a simple and inexpensive apparatus for assisting a person in manually tying a wire around a bale.
It is another objective of the present invention to reduce the number of people required to manually wrap and tie a bale.
It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a more efficient and cost effective means to manually tie bales.
These and other objectives will become more readily apparent from the Summary of the Invention and Detailed Description set forth hereinbelow.